Please note: there are no more deadlines under the EU Culture programme (2007-2013). For information on the next support programme for the creative and cultural sectors, see our post on Creative Europe.

Strand 1: Support for cultural actions
This strand, accounting approximately for about three-quarters of the programme’s budget, aims to enable a wide range of cultural organisations coming from various eligible European countries to collaborate on cultural and artistic projects. This strand has five main sub-categories:

1.1 Multi-annual co-operation projects over a maximum period of five years (previous deadline was 8 November 2012). This is for larger projects, lasting 3-5 years, with 6 or more partners from eligible European countries. For this strand, the maximum grant from the European Commission is 50% of the total eligible costs, and up to 500 000 euros per year for the project.

1.2.1 Co-operation projects over a maximum period of two years (previous deadline was 8 November 2012). This is for smaller projects, lasting 1-2 years, with 3 or more partners from eligible European countries. For this strand, the maximum grant from the European Commission is 50% of the total eligible costs, and between 50-200 000 euros for the overall project.

1.2.2 Literary translationprojects (previous deadline was 6 February 2013). This is for the translation of works of fiction (novels, plays, poetry, etc.) from/into one of the 23 eligible languages, plus Latin and Ancient Greek.

1.3.5 Co-operation with Third Countriesover a maximum period of two years (deadline for submission on 8 May 2013). In this strand, you need 3 partners from different eligible European countries, plus at least one partner from a third country outside the EU. The European Commission now specifies the third country for each deadline. For the May 2013 deadline it is Australia or Canada. For this strand, the maximum grant from the European Commission is 50% of the total eligible costs, and between EUR 50-200 000 for the overall project. More information on the Executive Agency website here.

1.3.6 European Cultural Festivals: covers a maximum period of twelve months for an annual grant (previous deadline was 5 December 2012). Note that the maximum amount is still 60% of eligible costs (100.000 euros) for one edition and the eligibility criteria have not changed: The applying festival must have taken place at least five times and must feature at least 7 different countries in the Festival Programme.

Strand 1 also includes other special measures to support high profile projects of considerable scale and scope – such as the support for European Capitals of Culture, and prizes in the areas of literature, cultural heritage heritage, contemporary architecture and popular music – see the Prizes and Related Links section for further resources.

Strand 2: Support for cultural bodies (previous deadline was 10 October 2012). This strand, with about 10% of the programme’s budget, supports cultural bodies working at the European level: networks, cultural ambassadors and policy support structures. These bodies may encourage exchanges between cultural organisations in different European countries, identify the European artistic community’s needs, represent the sector in dealing with EU institutions, participate in the public debate on cultural issues, and act as European cultural ambassadors.

Strand 3.2: Support for analysis and dissemination activities. This strand, with about 5% of the programme’s budget, aims to support analysis and dissemination activities in order to raise awareness of the Culture programme and its activities. The first focus is on providing support for analyses in the field of cultural co-operation and policy development – these are awarded via tenders issued by the European Commission. The second is by supporting the Cultural Contact Points which will ensure the effective grassroots dissemination of practical and targeted information on the programme in all participating countries. The final focus is on supporting the collection and dissemination of information, so that cultural operators can make use of the output and results of already EU-funded projects. (Previous deadline was 7 November 2012).